


Home Again

by GalaxyRise489



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Charles is emotionally broken, Darkish Charles, Erik is a Sweetheart, M/M, Poor Erik, XMDP alternate ending, but a happy ending eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 08:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20871413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyRise489/pseuds/GalaxyRise489
Summary: Alternate ending to Dark Phoenix where Charles did not immediately accept Erik’s offer of a home. And Erik isn’t taking no for an answer. Alternately, this could be a four times Erik unsuccessfully asks Charles to come to Genosha and one time Charles says yes. From an anon prompt on tumblr (that wasn’t even to me) “a fic where Charles goes very dark in the Paris proposal, something like "You thought after all this years... it would be this easy, Erik?" And scaring Erik with his powers maybe showing him his sufering, until Erik is almost on his knees begging for mercy or forgiveness”I didn’t stick to that exactly.





	Home Again

Charles looked across the table at Erik. The other man had hope in his eyes. So much hope. The kind of hope he hadn’t seen since ‘62. The kind of hope that didn’t exist for him anymore. 

“Just one game, for old time’s sake?” Erik asked proffering two closed fists. 

Charles tapped Erik’s left hand, revealing a white pawn. Erik smiled. Charles couldn’t remember the last time he had seen a true smile out of the other man. He smiled back reflexively and immediately regretted it. Erik had hurt him too many times. 

As the game concluded, Charles rolled back slightly. “Thank you for the game, I think it’s time for you to go, my friend” 

Erik’s eyes got wide. “Charles” he said, his voice nearly cracking. 

“What did you think Erik? That you could show up, after all this time, after all you’ve done. And that I would just go with you?” Charles turned away from the table. 

Erik stood but did not leave the table, “I only thought that perhaps we could move past all that.” 

The other man turned around quickly “move past it? No Erik, we cannot move past it. It was nice to see you, and I mean it when I said thank you for the game, but please leave.”

As Erik walked away his mind was filled, involuntarily, with images of Charles. On the beach in Cuba, in a hospital bed, unkempt and distraught in the mansion, drunk, drunk again, on many different drugs, drunk again, Raven’s death, Hank telling him that he was the enemy, and a feeling of overwhelming loneliness. 

He turned back to see Charles, tears brimming his eyes. “Goodbye Charles. You know how to find me.” 

Two days later Erik returned to the same cafe. 

“I thought I told you to leave.” Charles said not looking up from his sandwich. 

“And I told you I would like to offer you a home. That offer does not expire.” 

Charles said nothing, so Erik left. 

A week later, Erik found Charles at a different cafe. “It’s been a bit, thought you might like another game, perhaps I can redeem myself from the last loss” _ from many other things _he thought. From the look on Charles’s face, he caught the errant thought clearly. 

“Alright, one game. But then you must stop looking for me.” Charles said, not meeting Erik’s eyes. 

“I will never stop looking for you.” Erik said as he sat down “I cannot go back and undo what I’ve done. I can only move forward. And I want you to be there with me as I do.” 

_ So that you can leave me again? _ The words barely grazed Erik’s consciousness. 

“Charles. Look at me. Please. I’ve never wanted to leave you.” Erik hated the words as soon as he said them. They were true, but not what Charles wanted to hear. 

“Then why did you” Charles screamed, causing more than a few patrons of the cafe to look their way “if you never wanted to leave, why did you leave me on the beach, why did you leave me after you helped rebuild the school, why did you leave last month? Because that’s all you do Erik. You leave.” The entire cafe was staring at them “and you should leave now. We are causing a scene.” 

Erik stood up but instead of leaving, walked directly in front of Charles and knelt down. “If we are already causing a scene then I can’t make it worse. Do you want me to beg Charles. I’ll beg. Please. I’ve messed up, I know that I have, and I will probably mess up again. But I refuse to mess this up. I’m going to keep asking you. And when you finally say yes, you have my word that I will never leave you again.” He looked up, “Please, Charles, let me prove to you that we can move past it all.” 

Charles looked at the man before him, more vulnerable than he had ever been before. “No my friend.” He said coldly, “we cannot.” 

Erik stood, the tears he had been holding back flowed freely down his face, “I will see you soon Charles” he said before disappearing into the crowded Paris street. 

“I don’t know what that man did to you” a woman at the next table over said, graciously not recognizing either Magneto or Professor X as the men involved in the argument “but he is clearly sorry, and obviously loves you. Perhaps you should give him another chance.” 

“No ma’am he does not.” Charles said, still looking at the table. 

“If you cannot see that man’s love for you, perhaps you aren’t as skilled a telepath as they say.” Well, so much for not being recognized. 

The next day, Charles chose a different cafe, shifted himself into one of the booths, and asked a server to stow his chair. 

He saw the confusion on Erik’s face as the other man entered the cafe. He knew Erik was finding him by the metal in his chair. _ Over here, old friend _, Charles said telepathically as he saw Erik approach the corner where he was seated. 

“No chair?” Erik asked raising an eyebrow. 

“I was recognized after you left yesterday. I did not want to repeat that occurrence. It is in the back.” 

“Charles” he paused “May I sit?” 

Charles gestured to the bench across from him. 

“I believe I have chosen my words poorly in the past. When I said move past what happened, I did not mean to forget all the wrong I’ve done. All the wrong I’ve done to you.” He paused and looked to the ceiling “I meant that we should move forward, find a shared vision, and create that world.” He looked back to the man seated across from him “Together. Please, Charles, help me create that world.” 

“May I?” Charles asked, looking directly into Erik’s eyes. 

Erik nodded. 

Charles treaded cautiously as he entered Erik’s mind. And what he saw caused him to slump back in the booth. Him and Erik, side by side overseeing construction of new housing, more mutants moving to Genosha, him starting a school for the children, and Erik helping. Erik’s hair going grey, and himself making jokes about it. Playing chess every day. Erik leaning down to-“ 

He withdrew abruptly from Erik’s mind. “I never knew. Oh Erik, how have I never realized.” 

“I didn’t mean for you to see that.” Erik said quietly. “I meant it, but I didn’t mean for you to know yet.” _ I don’t want to push you away. _

“Erik, of all the things you have done, that is the least likely to push me away.” 

“Charles, please. I’ll get down on my knees again if I must. Make that future ours.” 

“Then let us go home.” 


End file.
